


starting from zero, got nothing to lose

by marcicat



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers in Space
Genre: Gen, KO-35, Team as Family, post-Countdown to Destruction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22023589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marcicat/pseuds/marcicat
Summary: Missing scene from ‘Countdown to Destruction,’ during the team’s time on KO-35.  As they learn more about the effects of Zordon’s final gift, Karone and Cassie make new plans to find old friends.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	starting from zero, got nothing to lose

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starandrea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starandrea/gifts).



> Title from ‘Fast Car,’ by Tracy Chapman. Because everyone should get the chance to write a Power Rangers fic with a song lyric title at some point in their lives, and Ecliptor deserved better.
> 
> Dedication: To Star, because sisters.

“Psst!”

Karone dropped the tablet on her stomach and looked towards the door. “You can just come in,” she said. “I’m told that’s what common areas are for.”

No one would have dared intrude on Astronema, common area or not. But Astronema had no place on the Megaship, or on KO-35. Karone might. They wanted her to, that was clear enough. But it made them nervous when she spent too much time in her room, and it made them nervous when she spent too much time off the ship. Staying in the common areas on the Megaship was easy enough, and if it kept everyone from worrying -- it wasn’t like she really had anything else to do.

“What fun would that be?” Cassie came in anyway, dropping down on the cushions by her feet.

It didn’t seem like the kind of question that required an answer, so she shrugged. Cassie pointed at the tablet. “TJ’s going to cry if you beat any more of his high scores on that thing. Come on, let’s go exploring.”

She let herself be tugged up off the cushions, more out of curiosity than anything else. Andros and Zhane had quickly gotten snapped up by Kerovan leadership for a seemingly endless string of meetings, but the last she’d heard, the other Rangers had been touring the city as a group.

“I grew up here, you know.” And she was as ambivalent about reacquainting herself with the parts she did remember as those she didn’t.

“So you’ll know all the best places to explore!” Cassie linked their arms together as they left the hangar, and she blinked at both the bright sunlight and the noise. They were in KO-35’s biggest city, and it was still crowded with celebrations after -- well, after.

Despite her words, Cassie seemed to be leading them through the streets with a specific destination in mind. She waved back at anyone who waved at her first, but she didn’t slow down. “Where are we going?” Karone asked.

“I booked us the afternoon in a tech room. Well, DECA booked it. We figured that would attract less attention.”

It was a reply that raised more questions than it answered, but Cassie seemed determined, and it wasn’t like she minded. They walked onto the local campus with nothing more than a smile and a scan of Cassie’s ‘Visiting Ranger’ badge. The paths there were quieter than the streets, and she found herself relaxing.

“Did you know Rangers basically have diplomatic immunity?” Cassie asked. “Even when they’re not officially part of any governmental structure on their home planet.”

That didn’t sound right. She frowned. “Doesn’t NASADA count?”

“My NASADA badge isn’t even recognized by every country on Earth,” Cassie said. “Do you think Andros told them it counted? That seems like something he would do. He gets away with a lot with that baby face of his, have you noticed that?”

“He always did, even when we were little,” she answered. Zordon’s energy wave had made those memories stronger -- she could be grateful for that, even while she was furious that her mind had been meddled with yet again.

“Yeah?” Cassie pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket that looked like it had directions on it, but she glanced over at Karone when she spoke. “I wondered.” Then she made a face at the paper. “I should have asked DECA to translate these into English.”

“I can read them,” she offered. It was obvious they were headed to the Science and Technology part of the campus anyway. “If you tell me why you think you’re going to need diplomatic immunity for whatever it is we’re going to do.”

Cassie looked around. “Can I tell you after we get there?”

She considered it. She was already having more fun than waiting around the Megaship. “Sure.” She linked their arms together again. “Tell me something else, instead.”

“I’ve been talking with Aquitar,” Cassie said.

She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but ‘I’ve been talking with Aquitar’ definitely wasn’t it. “Why?” Aquitar was technically an ally, but they so rarely did anything interesting, at least from a UAE perspective. She couldn’t imagine needing diplomatic immunity for something having to do with them.

Her expression must have made her thoughts obvious, because Cassie laughed. “There’s a former Earth Ranger there. He’s been coordinating an -- information exchange.”

A gossip chain, she mentally translated. “You’re not getting enough of it here?” she asked. She wondered if Cassie might be offended by the question, but she was also the quickest to forgive. It made it easier to ask.

“The Kerovans are great. They just don’t seem very interested in what’s happening everywhere else. Or maybe they’re just not sharing it with us?” Cassie gave her an uncertain look, like she wasn’t sure how her question would be received either.

She shrugged. “Probably a little of both. The outer colonies tend to keep to themselves more than planets like Eltar, or even Aquitar. And I think no one’s sure what to do with --” She couldn’t decide whether it would be better to say ‘me,’ which was more accurate, or ‘us,’ which would probably at least make Cassie smile. “All of this,” she said finally.

Cassie made a face. “You’d think if we’re good enough to fly around in a spaceship fighting the forces of evil, we’d at least be allowed to hear what’s happening out there.”

“They may think you have your own sources of information,” she pointed out. “Most Ranger teams do. And DECA should be able to access all the news networks.”

“Which is why I’ve been talking to Aquitar,” Cassie said brightly. “They’ve been working on the practical questions. Did you know not all Rangers un-morphed when the wave hit?”

She shook her head. “We’re here,” she said, waving the piece of paper. “I didn’t know any of the Rangers un-morphed. Why would you do that?”

Cassie grabbed her arm again. “Exactly! It doesn’t make sense!” She turned towards the door, and pulled another scrap of paper out of her pocket. “Here, this should be the code.”

“Your Ranger badge won’t get you in?”

“Probably, but then everyone would know we were here.” Cassie stepped through the door as soon as it opened, and she smiled when the lights came on automatically.

She was intrigued. “Diplomatic immunity? Nothing stays a secret around here for long,” she warned.

“That’s fine,” Cassie said. “This isn’t official Ranger business. Is there such a thing as unofficial Ranger business? That’s what this is.”

Karone considered that while Cassie poked around the room, seemingly pushing buttons at random. “You’re saying your Ranger friends came up with something, and you don’t think the Kerovans would approve, but Aquitar has agreed to cover for you if something goes wrong.”

“If something goes wrong we won’t need them,” Cassie said. “You and I can handle it. But if it goes right, they’ll vouch for us.”

Definitely more fun than sitting on the Megaship. “I’m listening.”

Cassie pushed one of the chairs towards her, and rolled a second one around so she could sit in it backwards, arms crossed along its back. “Okay, so -- everyone’s saying Zordon’s energy destroyed evil in the galaxy, but what if that’s not really what happened? Some villains disintegrated, but some of them were transformed instead. So what if instead of destroying evil, it reverted things back to before they became evil?”

She wasn’t interested in a philosophical debate about the nature of good and evil. “Did Zhane put you up to this?”

Cassie looked genuinely surprised. “No? Why, does he think Ecliptor’s alive too?”

“What? That’s impossible.” She shook her head. He’d told her, again and again, that he was evil. But -- he’d told her the same thing about herself, and look how that had turned out.

“Is it?” Cassie asked. “He cared about you. We all saw it. And he did save Andros’ life one time.”

“One time. As opposed to all the other times when he tried to kill him. And Ecliptor turned to dust; it was on the news.”

Cassie waved it off. “His physical form turned to dust. But he wasn’t born in that form, right? He was built. So before he had a physical form, he still existed as --”

“As code,” Karone finished. Could it be true?

“Maybe.” Cassie turned her hands palm up. “We think. It’s a lot of guessing at this point.”

No one seemed to think she should miss anything from her time as Astronema. She studied Cassie carefully. Or maybe they’d just been waiting for her to bring it up first. Until now, apparently. “Why now?” she asked.

Cassie actually looked apologetic when she answered. “I didn’t think of it until last night, when everyone was talking about their families.”

“I didn’t say anything.” She thought back. “You didn’t say anything either.”

Cassie shrugged. “My family’s here.”

She wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she looked around instead. “How did you even find out about this place?”

Cassie put on an expression of wide-eyed innocence. “Wow, that’s amazing! Kerovans are so much more advanced than Earth. You can use this screen to call other planets? What does this button do?”

She laughed. “Clearly Andros isn’t the only one getting away with things.”

Cassie’s eyes got even wider, and she put both hands over her heart. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m just following the example of our team leader.” Then she laughed too, and added, “Also, DECA knows everything. From here we should have enough power to do a search for Ecliptor’s code. Billy wrote a program.”

It took less time than she expected, and she wasn’t at all ready when a familiar voice said, _“Princess?”_

“Ecliptor,” she whispered. Then she cleared her throat. “How do I know it’s really you?”

_“Would it be more convincing to detail your plans to eliminate Dark Specter, or to say that when you were younger, you insisted on calling your rooms a castle?”_

“Princesses live in castles, Ecliptor,” she answered immediately, unable to keep from smiling. “It made perfect sense.”

 _“Of course,”_ he said seriously. _“Are you well?”_

“Better now.” She bit her lip. “I missed you.”

_“And I you.”_

She looked at Cassie. “What happens now?”

“Well, you could stay here. There’s that diplomatic immunity I mentioned, and it’s hard to beat ‘Zordon’s energy wave didn’t think I was evil’ as an argument. Or if you’re coming with us, DECA has offered to share the Megaship, until you both decide what you want to do next,” Cassie said.

She was sure she was supposed to say something -- she took Cassie’s hand instead, and squeezed it tightly.

 _“That would be -- most appreciated,”_ Ecliptor said.

Cassie squeezed her hand back, and smiled. “That’s what family does.”


End file.
